That's actually what I had in mind. Read this on one of the blogs and it seemed like probably the best option. The main obstacle (for me anyway) is getting "acquainted" with others who run a consultancy :) I guess i'll try to go to more meetups and be more social, reach out to friends to see if they know people, etc...

Do you think it's frowned upon to cold-email people that you're only vaguely acquainted with? Say for instance, I make a very politely and concisely worded email, asking them if they have any extra work that they could off-load.